Educational audiology service delivery in South Africa: Perceptions, practices and challenges of audiologists
Aim: Educational Audiology (EA) is a relatively specialised field within audiology where audiologists play a crucial role in providing audiological services to school-aged learners with hearing loss. Audiologists in EA face numerous challenges, particularly in South Africa, where there is limited evidence regarding the provision of audiological services beyond hearing screening. As there is a limited number of trained professionals to provide EA services, audiologists cannot limit themselves to only providing services in a clinical setting. This study aimed to explore the perceptions and practices of South African audiologists in EA service delivery and the specific challenges they encounter.
Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study investigated the perceptions and practices of 64 audiologists registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) regarding EA service delivery. In the first phase, quantitative and qualitative data were collected through an online survey. In the second phase, a focus group discussion with four audiologists provided deeper insights into the emerging themes. Descriptive statistics and reflexive thematic analysis were used to analyse the data.
Results: Key roles identified for educational audiologists included serving as instructional team members, service coordinators, and consultants, with primary responsibilities in rehabilitation, device maintenance, and identifying hearing loss. A positive correlation (p0.001) was observed between the frequency of EA service provision and self-reported competency. EA services were predominantly offered in specialised educational settings, with challenges including language and cultural barriers, limited resources, financial constraints, and disengaged parents. Participants highlighted the need for increased training opportunities in EA within South Africa.
Conclusion: There is a perceived deficit of information regarding the roles and responsibilities of the educational audiologist in South Africa. It is crucial for audiologists to fully understand their roles and responsibilities in managing school-aged learners with hearing loss. Specifically, audiologists in private clinical practice must extend their responsibilities beyond the initial fitting of hearing aids to include comprehensive support for these school-aged learners with hearing loss, by providing information to the parents and teachers of these learners. This study underscores the need for the development of structured guidelines for delivering EA services in South Africa, as well as for enhancing learning opportunities within the field. Such measures could increase awareness of EA and positively impact service delivery in South Africa.
